Left wingin' it

Network aims to make liberal talk radio a hit

"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me," is how Al Franken's "Stuart Smalley" shtick on "SNL" used to go.

Well, America will be the judge of that.

Franken, voice of the political left, will test liberalism's radio-worthiness Wednesday, when he debuts his call-in show, the centerpiece of the new Air America Radio network.

The network, which will carry shows hosted by Chuck D, Janeane Garofalo and Robert Kennedy Jr., will air on WNTD-AM 950 in Chicago and on other small stations in New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., and on the Web (www.airamericaradio.com) and XM Satellite Radio.

In a country evenly divided politically, talk radio is anything but. Air America is a liberal salvo in the war for listeners, advertisers and the opinions of millions of Americans.

While the new network has drawn an avalanche of publicity, some see it as a risky venture into the largely conservative talk-show realm dominated by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. ("The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox inspired Franken's mocking title, "The O'Franken Factor.")

"Talk radio is an extraordinarily important way to communicate with voters," said Mark Kornblau, a spokesman for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. "We've seen in past elections that the Republicans have more effectively used talk radio to their advantage."

Franken even says that his radio experiment will be a "total failure" if President Bush is re-elected.

The author and former "SNL" comedian offers himself as an antidote to Limbaugh, whose conservative ideas have ripped across AM airwaves in national syndication since 1988. Franken's show will run directly opposite Limbaugh's (heard locally on WLS-AM 890), from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.

"I've got Rush in mind, even though I'm calling it 'The O'Franken Factor,"' a harried Franken said during a quick break in the rehearsals and meetings that have filled his days before the network launch.

Never mind that Limbaugh is the nation's leading talk-radio host, with about 20 million weekly listeners who tune into nearly 600 stations.

"I think a lot of people listen to Rush because he's the only person to listen to," Franken said. "So just by letting them know that a choice exists, we'll provide an alternative. A lot of liberals listen to him just to get angry."

Anger, in fact, seems to be a key fuel stoking the fire of talk- radio success.

"There's no doubt that a large part of the appeal of talk radio today is the 'angry white man' syndrome," said Steve Rendall, senior analyst at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, a national left-of-center media watch group. "G. Gordon Liddy, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Michael Reagan, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly--they are tapping into their listeners' anger."

So, are those on the opposite end of the political spectrum angry enough to back a new radio network?

"Yeah, liberals are angry," Franken said.

In the beginning, Franken's reach certainly won't compare to Limbaugh's. It is searching for languishing stations in other markets to take its daily programming. Meanwhile, Limbaugh is on hundreds of mainstream stations nationwide.

Talkers magazine, which covers the industry, last year named Limbaugh the most important radio host of the modern era.

Before Limbaugh, Talkers publisher Michael Harrison said, many radio listeners felt ignored. They thought "that Hollywood was liberal, that television was liberal, that most of radio was liberal, that music was liberal, that newspapers are liberal."

"Whether it's true or not, I can't say. But they believed it. And they felt that, 'Wow, these guys are talking to us,'" Harrison said.

Hannity, for instance, draws nearly 12 million listeners over 400 stations. The audience is primarily white men, self-described Republicans with average household incomes of $75,000 a year.

How do Franken's frequent media targets feel about the fledgling network? A spokesman for Limbaugh said he has a no-interview policy, but O'Reilly labeled the "Liberal Radio Network" the "most ridiculous item of the day" on his TV show Monday.